Vera Wang was born in 1949, in New York City. The daughter of affluent Chinese immigrants, growing up on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. A talented figure skater, Vera competed professionally throughout her teens.
Upon her graduation from college, Vera began working for Vogue magazine. Within a year, she was promoted to senior fashion editor at the age of 23. She held that title for the next 15 years until she left Vogue to take a job as design director for accessories at Ralph Lauren in 1987.
When Vera was marrying her longtime boyfriend Arthur Becker in 1989, she was frustrated with the slim selection of bridal wear. So she sketched her own design and commissioned a dressmaker to tailor the elaborate gown at a cost of $10,000. The following year, with some financial backing from her father, Vera opened her own bridal boutique on Madison Avenue in New York City.
Catering mostly to celebrities and socialites, the Vera Wang Bridal House initially offered couture gowns by the famed designers Guy Laroche, Carolina Herrera, and Christian Dior. Over the next few years, Vera honed her skills as a fashion designer and eventually launched a signature collection of sophisticated bridal wear.
She has since introduced an equally popular line of elegant evening wear, as well as Vera Wang Made to Order. Her fashions are frequently worn to film premieres and award ceremonies by a number of high-profile actresses.
For many years Vera has also designed figure skater outfits for prominent US skaters to wear at Winter Olympics. Vera Wang bridal boutiques are established in New York, London, Tokyo, and Sydney and she has expanded her brand through her fragrance, jewellery, eyewear, shoes, and homeware collections.
